Panthers stay undefeated after clipping Cavaliers

Young teams sometimes make mistakes in crunch time, and Johnston girls’ basketball is no exception.

The Panthers had numerous chances to put the game away against Juanita Sanchez, including a few missed free throws, but the Cavaliers hung around. While Johnston had its miscues, it was able to hold off its opponent on the road Thursday night, 63-60.

Johnston head coach Chris Corsinetti knows there will be some growing pains, as is expected with a team that starts four sophomores, but the Panthers have rolled with every punch to date. They sit atop Division II-North with a sterling 5-0 record.

“We’ve been looking at this game on our schedule since last year, we gained confidence since playing them at our place last year,” Corsinetti said. “They understood what the game means, coming on the road for a game like this. As you can see, down the stretch, the inexperience kind of hurt us, but they were able to persevere because we did a great job on the boards.”

Once again, freshman Caroline Howe (12 points, nine rebounds) exploded in the second half to continue her impressive debut season. The Panthers looked for her more in the painted area, and she earned 10 second-half points. She had four baskets that either tied the game or gave Johnston the lead. Her third field goal of the half put Johnston on top, 50-49.

“She’s a hard worker,” Corsinetti said of Howe. “In practice, she does whatever she’s asked. She’s a great kid to coach. She’s actually playing on a bum ankle right now, but she never complains. She’s just a pleasure to have, looking forward to the next few years with her. She plays with confidence.”

The Panthers’ newfound aggression led to increased opportunities at the line. They had 20 free throws during the second half to Juanita Sanchez’s three. Johnston only made 10 of them, but it disrupted the Cavaliers’ momentum and allowed for the Panthers to add to their lead.

Sophomore Gabriella DiRaimo earned a 1-and-1, making both ends to push the lead to 57-51. Star junior Jordan Moretti kept the cushion the same after Juanita Sanchez responded, driving the lane to earn a layup with 3:38 to go.

Howe and sophomore Amelia Moore combined for 11 tries at the line, but the foul Howe drew with just over three minutes to go was integral for the win.

Cavaliers’ center Willcia McBorrough, who led all scorers with 26, fouled out during an offensive rebound attempt. She dominated the glass during her time on the court, but once she exited it was the youthful Panthers’ turn to clean up the rebounds.

“We planned to attack her,” Corsinetti said of the approach against McBorrough. “I think the difference between last year and this year is we have a post presence. We have players that can score down low. Getting them the ball down low, doing their thing, our guards penetrating and doing their thing, it’s just a different complexion that we give.”

Howe took over as the top threat on the boards. She found DiRaimo down low to extend the Johnston lead to 61-53.

Mariah Rosario found her shooting stroke after that, leading the Cavaliers on a 7-0 run by herself to cut the deficit down to just one point, 61-60.

Moore stepped to the line for two shots with under a minute to go, drilling one to up the lead to 62-60. She missed the second free throw, but DiRaimo was there to collect the loose ball. She was fouled and missed both, allowing the Cavaliers to maintain hope with just more than 10 seconds left.

As Juanita Sanchez pressed up court, Johnston’s swarming defense forced an errant pass right into the hands of Bianca Robbins. She sank one of two to make it 63-60, and Moretti stole the Cavaliers’ last heave attempt at halfcourt as time expired.

“I noticed tonight they were trying to overplay Gabby a little bit, because some teams think Gabby’s our scorer, some teams think it’s Jordan,” Corsinetti said. “You’ve got Caroline, Amelia and Julianna [Zalewski]. That’s the joy of coaching this team, you can get points in a variety of different ways.”

McBorrough dominated the Panthers during the first half to the tune of 16 points, but her foul trouble allowed Johnston to claw its way back into the game.

The Cavaliers led 18-11 before McBorrough was forced to sit out a few minutes. Johnston ripped off a 13-0 run before she came back in to stop the bleeding. Zalewski was a sparkplug off the bench during that spurt, producing eight first-half points to set up what would be a second-half thriller.

“Julianna’s been struggling a little bit with her shot, but she hit some key shots,” Corsinetti said. “She’s our best shooter, there’s no doubt she’s our best shooter. She’s just struggling with her confidence right now, but I think tonight will be a huge confidence boost for her.”

The Panthers continued their perfect start to the year with a 52-44 victory over Scituate on Tuesday night. Moretti led the way with 30 points and 14 rebounds as Johnston handed the Spartans their second league loss of the season.

Next up for Johnston is a home tilt with Ponaganset (5-1) tonight at 7 p.m. The Chieftains were undefeated until Tuesday night, when they fell at home to Mount Saint Charles, 53-26.